Texans shakeup QB position prior to season opener

Published 4:48 pm, Monday, September 1, 2014

Houston Texans Case Keenum throws against the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Thursday August 28, 2014.

Houston Texans Case Keenum throws against the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Thursday August 28, 2014.

Photo: Alan Warren

Texans shakeup QB position prior to season opener

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The day after Houston lost to the San Francisco in the final preseason game of the season, Texans head coach Bill O'Brien stated that it would be hard to bring in a new quarterback this late in the preseason and was fine with the quarterbacks on the team.

"Very difficult. Very difficult to bring a guy in and get him ready in one week to be a backup or a number three," he said on Friday. "It’s a difficult process. Is it something that we would do if we felt like it was something that would improve the football team, certainly we would look at that. At this point in time, these three guys: Fitzy (Ryan Fitzpatrick) our starter, and Case (Keenum) and Tom (Savage) have worked hard. They know the system."

Something changed for the Texans in a matter of 48 hours.

According to multiple reports on Sunday, the Texans traded a conditional 2016 7th round pick for the New England Patriots for backup quarterback Ryan Mallett. To make room for Mallett on the roster, the Texans waived former University of Houston quarterback Case Keenum.

Keenum, who played at the University of Houston from 2007-2011, started eight games for the Texans in 2013 completing just more than 54 percent of his passes for 1,760 yards and nine touchdowns.

The fourth-year player out of Arkansas comes to the Texans after being jumped on the Patriots depth chart by Jimmy Garoppolo, who was drafted by New England in the second round in May's NFL Draft.

O'Brien and Mallett have worked together before, when O'Brien was with the Patriots coaching staff in 2011, prior to taking the head coaching job at Penn State.

Mallett has played in just four games in his NFL career and is 1-for-4 for 17 yards and an interception.

With the moves on Sunday, the Texans will head into the opening week of the season with 10-year veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, rookie Tom Savage and newly acquired Ryan Mallett as the three quarterbacks on their depth chart.

For more coverage of the Texans be sure to follow Joshua Koch (@jokoch09) on Twitter.